Volume 1, Chapter 47

“L-Lo… Lord Krimde?!”

How?

How could this happen?!

Why did you just kick the bucket like that?!

Looking at the fortress commander who had been corroded by the black liquid until he was nothing more than a pool of bloody water, the soldiers of Fort Garros nearby were struck with terror. It was like a bolt from the blue, leaving their eyes trembling. It was truly difficult to accept that a commander-in-chief had died so inexplicably under the attack of an Abyssal Demon.

Are you kidding me?!

However, this sudden strike also snapped the soldiers back to reality. They looked toward the black tide that had already reached the city walls with sheer horror! Although it was hard to believe, the Abyssal Demons seemed to be using their actual actions to warn everyone:

You bunch of trash! Don’t you dare ignore us!!

As it turned out, the enemy was not going to give them ample time for conversation.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure brought by the approaching swarm of Abyssal Demons outside, Mengxi bit her pink lip and hurriedly looked at the dazed female adjutant not far away.

“What are you just standing there for?!”

“Huh?!”

Startled by Mengxi’s shout, the female adjutant snapped out of it and looked at the masked, silver-haired girl in bewilderment.

“Are… are you talking to… to me?”

“No kidding! Aren’t you his adjutant?! That bastard Krimde is dead! You’re the one in charge of commanding now! Hurry up and activate the city defense array! Otherwise, everyone is going to die!”

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“This… right… Yes!!”

Hearing Mengxi’s words, the female adjutant finally came to her senses. She stopped caring about whether Mengxi and the others were infected or the fact that Krimde was dead! Bolstered by her magic power, the female adjutant shouted toward a man in the fortress who looked like a high-tier mage:

“Mr. Abimo! Quickly, activate the city defense magic!”

“Hmm?”

Upon receiving the order, the middle-aged man named Abimo, who possessed the hairstyle of an absolute powerhouse ¹ Not sure what this is referencing to, just pick and choose which op character’s hairstyle you want for now , immediately thrust the staff in his hand into the array core on the ground! Nearly all of his magic power as a sixth tier peak expert was poured into the core through the staff!

High Tier Magic – Haroc’s Heavy Magic Barrier!

The man began to chant the incantation.

In an instant, along with a frantic surge of blue magic power, a magic circle constructed from deep blue runes abruptly manifested on the ground! As the magic power surged further, the light atop the magic circle became increasingly blinding!

At the same time, dozens of fifth tier mages who had just rushed from the rear to the top of the city walls saw the blue array forming. Simultaneously, they dropped to their knees, pressing their hands to the ground to funnel all the strength in their bodies into the city walls!

The next moment—

“Hu~~”

The magical devices that had been prepared long ago also began to emit ripples of powerful magic power. Guided by the city defense array, the mages’ magic power and the energy stored within the magical devices were completely released at this moment, pouring continuously into the city walls!

As the power flooded in and the group of mages continued their chanting, blue magic power instantly traced out rows of magical runes across the surface of the walls!

As the runes appeared, a deep blue wall of light rose from the ground, forming outside the city walls and suddenly enveloping the entirety of Fort Garros within it!

The moment the city defense array was activated, under the anxious gaze of everyone present, the black tide formed by the Abyssal Demons slammed violently into the wall of light!

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“Boom! Boom!~~”

Suddenly, a series of earth-shaking collisions roared into everyone’s ears! The surging Shadow Essence continuously battered the blue magic barrier. The Abyssal Demons’ fangs and claws frantically attacked the barrier at this moment.

The barrier did not take the hits lying down, releasing massive amounts of lightning power that blasted many Abyssal Demons back. Those with weaker strength were even charred into corpses instantly. Even so, the Abyssal Demon swarm showed no sign of cowardice, continuing to launch themselves at the barrier wave after wave!

All sorts of terrifying, clashing sounds rose and fell.

The overwhelming pressure brought by the countless Abyssal Demons made everyone in Fort Garros hold their breath. The entire fortress was swallowed by the murderous roars of the demons.

But, regardless, based on the current situation, this city defense array, prepared over hundreds of years, had finally served its purpose. This barrier, over fifty meters high and released along the city walls, temporarily blocked the onslaught of the Abyssal Demon swarm! Although it was unclear how long it could hold, they were safe for the time being.

Seeing this, the female adjutant, whose heart had been clenched for a long time, finally breathed a long sigh of relief and collapsed to her knees in exhaustion. Due to the existence of the array, the garrison was unable to launch large-scale bombardments against the swarm. What she needed to do next was maintain the magic array for as long as possible and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Of course, that was provided that no higher-tier Abyssal Demons appeared.

If they did, whether the city defense magic could withstand them remained an unknown…

On the other side, after Krimde’s death, the remaining female adjutant did not continue to make things difficult for Mengxi and her group due to her fear of the Ashurmos Church’s influence. After calling over a mage to sense and confirm that they were not carrying any Shadow Essence, she agreed to let them enter the fortress.

Although the crisis was far from over, for these knights of the Ashurmos Church, they had already escaped from the jaws of death. Their hearts were filled with the joy of survival.

Everyone, of course, except for one person: Miss Mengxi.

At this moment, although there was a hint of joy in Mengxi’s beautiful pale purple eyes, there was even more of an indescribable gravity.

As she was about to follow the garrison soldiers down from the city walls, Mengxi couldn’t help but look back at the terrifying swarm of Abyssal Demons charging in the distance. The silver-haired girl’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Strange…

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Something was really wrong.

From the way the Abyssal Demon swarm used black lasers to attack the mages who were casting spells earlier, it was clear that the demons definitely possessed long-range attack capabilities! It was impossible for them to be the kind of idiots who only sought close-quarters combat.

But if that was the case…

Why didn’t they use long-range attacks when they were chasing us before? If they had used that black breath early on, we would undoubtedly have been doomed.

Besides, don’t those Abyssal Demons seem a bit… hesitant?

After calming down, Mengxi carefully recalled the details of the previous chase.

The more she thought about it, the more her brow furrowed.

She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but several times those Abyssal Demons had been on the verge of catching them, only for the distance to be inexplicably widened again. It felt like those monsters were… acting? Or perhaps they were wary of something?

No, no, no! That’s impossible! What am I thinking!

Mengxi couldn’t help but shake her head vigorously, trying to shake off the unrealistic thoughts in her mind.

Abyssal Demons are supposed to have no sanity. It’s impossible for them to consider so much…

But this really was strange.

Moreover, that final strike that killed Krimde…

Why, out of so many people, did it choose Krimde specifically? That guy hadn’t even released his battle aura yet.

Why did it feel like it was clearing the way for us…

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The more she thought about it, the deeper the confusion on Mengxi’s face became. Meanwhile, the expression of the pink-haired girl in her arms became increasingly subtle…

While Mengxi was caught in her dilemma, Garona walked quickly to her side, panting heavily.

“C-Captain, what do you think we should do now?”

Hmm?

Garona’s words temporarily pulled Mengxi out of the mire of her confusion. Her thoughts returned to the real world.

Looking at her disheveled teammate and the only two remaining knights of the Ashurmos Church behind her, Mengxi couldn’t help but sigh helplessly.

Yes, now was not the time to think about those questions.

With that thought, Mengxi took a deep breath and solemnly gave her orders.

“Garona, you exhausted your strength. Go and rest first. Drink some recovery potions to replenish your energy.”

“Y-Yes, but Captain? What about you?”

“As for me…”

As she spoke, Mengxi looked down at the scarred pink-haired girl in her arms. At that moment, the pink-haired girl seemed to sense Mengxi’s gaze. She slowly raised her head, her beautiful sapphire-like eyes wide and blinking as she looked at Mengxi.

In her gaze, the wariness from the beginning seemed to have vanished. What remained was a hint of innocence and curiosity.

“As for me, I’ll take this child to get treated first. Otherwise, I’m afraid her wounds will worsen.”